Nigeria vows to keep fighting extremism after Trump adds it to US watch list

The ministry described Nigeria as “a God-fearing country where we respect faith, tolerance, diversity and inclusion, in concurrence with the rules-based international order.”

Why Trump added Nigeria to the list

On Friday, Trump announced that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and its top oil producer, had been placed on the US “Countries of Particular Concern” list, which identifies governments accused of violating religious freedoms.

Other countries on the list include China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan.

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump said in a social media post on Friday, without giving specific details.

Trump had placed Nigeria on the list during his first term as president. The country was later removed from it by his successor, Joe Biden, in 2021.

A diverse nation with a history of conflict

Nigeria, home to more than 200 ethnic groups, is roughly split between Christians and Muslims, with some also practising traditional faiths. Churches and mosques stand side by side in many cities.

But the country has faced repeated outbreaks of violence between communities, often linked to ethnic disputes or competition over land and water. In some cases, religion overlaps with these tensions.

For the past 15 years, the Islamist armed group Boko Haram has waged an insurgency in the northeast, killing tens of thousands of people, mostly Muslims, and displacing millions.

US lawmakers react

Trump also asked the US House Appropriations Committee to study the situation and report back to him. A congressional subcommittee held a hearing earlier this year on the killings of Christians in Nigeria.

US Representative Tom Cole, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, said on X that the move “sends a strong message: the US will not ignore Christian persecution.”